Brothers
by MahanaH50
Summary: Danno is a new officer at Hawaii 5-0, but he soon finds himself trapped btween two sets of brothers - his fellow police officers and his family. Will he be forced to choose?
1. Chapter 1

Brothers – Chapter 1

December 1966

The football sailed through the air and Danny leaped to catch it.  Slight in build, he made up for what he lacked in size with both skill and agility. The ball landed directly into his grasp, and as his feet touched ground he pivoted and ran a random pattern towards the coconut palm that served as the goal post.  Quick as he was, he could not outpace the long legged strides made by his opponent who caught up to him just at the goal line.  Danny made a last ditched attempt at a touchdown by crouching low and moving to the right, but suddenly a huge weight crashed on top of him.  Danny grimaced in pain as the wind was knocked sharply out of his lungs.  He gasped for air but then quickly held his breath.  He had been here before and knew what was coming.  Seconds later a second weight piled on top of him.  And a few moments after that, another.  After a short while Danny attempted to shout something but found he had no remaining air with which to form words. _Get off me already! _ Finally one of the weights removed themselves and then the next weight did the same.  Eventually the last remaining tonnage stood up and pulled Danny up with him.  Dan stood still for a moment and glared at his three brothers, all of who were smiling broadly at him.  "It's supposed to be TOUCH football!" he growled.

"So, we touched you! And good too!" was the response from David Punana, Dan's oldest and heaviest brother.  Everyone laughed at the old joke, except for Dan.

"And what about you Kenny?  You're supposed to be on _my team!_" Danny said looking at the youngest of the male Punanas.

Kenny stopped smiling and shrugged. "Sorry man, it was just too much fun to pass up."  He looked at Danny hoping he wasn't too annoyed.  He saw a smile creep up on Danny's face.  He knew Dan wouldn't remain mad much longer, no matter what they did to him, or each other.  No one could remain mad for long - after all they were all brothers.

Danny looked over at Tommy, the Punana's fifteen-year-old foster son who had been on the opposing team. "Thanks for not being in the pile-up Tommy.  You're Coke's on me." Tommy looked down at his feet as usual, refusing to acknowledge the offer. Danny sighed and surveyed the rest of the still chuckling Punanas. "The rest of you pay-up. I'm going over to the snack bar."  Danny collected money from the group and headed towards the edge of Ala Moana Park where a snack stand stood.

"Hang on Danny, I'll come with you." It was Amy, the only daughter of the Punana family and at 18, the youngest member, not counting the recent addition of Tommy.  Danny took her hand and the two walked together. Although not being natural born siblings, and nearly 8 years difference in age, Danny and Amy were probably the most compatible of any in the group.  They shared similar personalities and interests, and they greatly enjoyed each other's company. 

Danny glanced at Amy as they walked. Although he considered himself her brother, he recognized that she was turning into a beautiful woman. Amy had golden skin and dark brown hair that framed her oval face, and gave her the look of a woman several years older than the teen she was. Danny hoped that her attractiveness wouldn't cause her to become enmeshed in a serious relationship too soon.  He hoped she would find a way to maintain that freedom of youth just a little bit longer. Danny was thinking so intently of Amy, that he didn't notice the three Hawaiian youths who where approaching them until they were directly blocking their path.

"Hey ugly, how 'bout you go get a white wahine and leave our women alone!"

Danny stood still and gave Amy's hand a little squeeze for reassurance. "Why don't you guys just crawl back under whatever rock you came out of before you get yourselves into trouble."

The ringleader chuckled and the others followed suit. "You the one who gonna get trouble unless you let that girl go!" He pounded his hand with his fist.

"She's my sister," Danny said, knowing he would not be believed.

"Yeah, we all sistahs and bruddahs, right?  Well I'm gonna pound you today brah!"  He stepped forward as Danny reached into his back pocket and pulled out his badge.  He stuck it directly under his coming assailant's nose. The local kid dropped back a few feet and sneered at Danny. "You think that gonna save you always? One day comin' soon that gonna do you no good pig. And I'm gonna be there waitin' for you!"

A voice boomed from behind Danny's ear, "And we're going to be waiting for YOU!" It was David. 

Danny spun around to see his three brothers, and even his new foster brother, all standing behind him with their arms crossed.  "You take on one Punana brother, you take on us all!" David continued, " So, do you want to wait until your 'someday', or do you want to try your luck now?"

The local kids took a couple more steps back. The big-shot leader shook his head and tried a friendly smile. "Hey man, I didn't know he was really her brother! Just a mistake, you know? No big nothin', huh?" He looked at Danny. "Sorry man, okay?"  Then he turned and the three boys took off at a run.

Danny sighed and thanked his brothers.  Alan slapped him congenially on the back a little too hard and told him it was 'no big deal', while Kenny told him not to worry about a couple of 'crazy kids'. But Danny knew better, he had spent nearly his entire life in between two worlds, and he knew it would never be that simple.

*****

Steve McGarrett sat on his leather chair in the large office of Iolani Palace and carefully plucked the strings of his guitar.  Although never much of a musician, the soft sounds that emanated from the instrument helped him to relax.  This morning he had good reason to seek a sense of calmness before being the day's work - a police officer had been shot last night. The officer was in critical condition. And although it looked likely to be an HPD matter, the shooting of a cop always added an element of fear into the work of those left behind.  Steve wondered also if perhaps his newest team member, Dan Williams, had been friends with the injured officer.  Having recently been brought over from HPD, Steve knew that Danny still had a lot of close ties remaining there, and he hoped he wouldn't be too shook by the yet unexplained shooting.

Hearing sounds in the front office, Steve placed the guitar carefully in a corner and walked into the outer office. There he had expected to see Dan, who had lately been arriving as early as he did.  Instead he saw his veteran officer, Chin Ho Kelly.  The two exchanged greetings and discussed the incident that had taken place the previous night, which nearly every officer was now aware of.  Shortly after, Kono Kalakaua joined them, and with the arrival of May the secretary, the office was in full swing - except for the absence of Dan Williams. It was after nine o'clock and Steve was becoming concerned for the whereabouts of his youngest team member when a breathless Williams ran into the office.  He had on a t-shirt, jeans, and tennis sneakers, and his face was clearly unshaven.  It was obvious he had not come from his apartment. Steve and Dan went into the large office and a concerned McGarrett waited for an explanation.  The look on Williams' face was clearly one of anxiety as he explained the events of that night.  Sometime past midnight Danny had received a frantic call from Joey Punana - the father of the family in which he grew up.  Several police officers had shown up at the family's home with a search warrant.  They were angry and rough, and had turned over ever room in the house.  While the police were there a call came in saying that a weapon had been found and that it was registered to Kenny Punana. They then arrested the almost 21 year old and hauled him downtown on suspicion of attempted murder.  The man Kenny was supposed to have shot was a cop.  Danny had immediately headed to HPD and spent the rest of the night trying to see Kenny, which he was unable to do, and trying to calm his frantic family.

McGarrett knew very little of Danny's family situation. Steve was a private man and did not ask many personal questions of his men in return.  He was aware that Dan had been brought up on the islands and that his parents had died a long time ago.  He knew also that Danny had been taken in by a Hawaiian family, which had helped to give him contacts in the local community that were proving useful in his new position as a detective at 5-0. Beyond that, Steve knew practically nothing.  But it was apparent to him that this family Danny spoke of was of great importance to his officer.  He decided to tread carefully.

"Danno, whatever happened last night will all come out soon enough.  HPD won't drag its heels when it concerns a cop, so you'll get your answers shortly.  Why don't you go home and get cleaned up and then come on back here."

Danny shook his head. "Steve, I can't. I have to get back over to HPD and see Kenny. I want to find out what's going on. Kenny didn't shoot anyone, it's all a mistake; but I don't know why it looks like he did. I also need to help my parents - I mean Kenny's parents - arrange for a lawyer.  They will probably try to send over someone from the Public Defenders Office but you know those people aren't the…."

Steve cut Danny off by grabbing his shoulder. "No Danno. You need to back off a bit. Let's wait to hear what HPD has to say first.  Maybe you are right and this is all a big mistake. If so, give the department a chance to get it straightened out.  In the meantime, go home and get cleaned up. I want you back here by 10:30." Steve's tone, and the hand that remained on Dan's shoulder, breached no refusal.  Danny nodded and then headed back to his place to change.

*****

Steve sat in Chief Dann's office, waiting to hear what the head of HPD had to say on the events that had transpired so far.  The chief began, "Look, Steve, I'll give it to you from the top, but it looks like an open and shut case.  Dispatch received a call at 2245 of a gunshot over near the Ka'a'awa Elementary School. It was an anonymous call, but when a car arrived they found Officer Jones lying injured on the playground pavement.  It was birdshot; otherwise he would have been dead a long time ago from so close a range. Anyway, the only evidence found at the scene was a piece of paper in Jones' pocket. It had the phone number of the Punana family. Although there was no name listed, there was a large letter K on it.  We got a search warrant and went through the house. There was nothing there, but one of our officers found a weapon under some bushes near the school.  It was registered to Kenneth Punana and it is without question the weapon involved in the shooting. The young man has no alibi - claims he went to bed at 10:00 that night as he has early classes at the University.  No one remembers seeing him leave the house, but the house is a small single story thing and he could have easily gotten out and back in without being noticed."

"Motive?" asked Steve.

"None so far, but we're working on it."

Steve nodded. It certainly seemed like a clear-cut case.  "Are you aware that Dan Williams grew up in the Punana household?"

Chief Dann got up from his chair and sat on the edge of his desk looking down at McGarrett. "Yes, I have heard about that. I like Williams, Steve.  I was sorry to see him go when you stole him from us," Steve's eyebrows shot up at the use of the word 'stole', but Chief Dan continued on unperturbed, "but he's a cop and he needs to remember that.  I can't have him interfering with this investigation and I am counting on you to make that clear to him. That Hawaiian kid shot one of my cops and we're going to prove it. Danny needs to get on the right side with this."

Steve didn't like the use of the term "side" any better than he did "stole" a moment ago, but he let it go. Thanking the Chief for his time, Steve headed back to the Palace.

*****

Danny paced the small kitchen that he had spent so much time in as a child.  Mei, the woman who had raised him, sat at the table, her eyes red from crying. She was holding tightly onto Amy's hand, as if she were clinging to a life raft. Late that morning Danny had gone with Mei to see Kenny and to talk with him. As they had suspected, he denied being involved in anyway with the shooting incident. He had no idea how his shotgun had been taken, and no clue to why the police officer might have had his family's phone number on a piece of paper - along with his initial.  The remainder of the day had been taken up talking with the public defender and attempting to make bail.  The Punana family had limited resources, but friends and family were scrounging, and it was hoped that Kenny could post bond by tomorrow.   Meanwhile, Danny had left only a curt message with May that he would not be back at the Palace for the rest of the day. He hoped Steve would understand. 

 "Danny, maybe you and some of your friends could ask around and try to find out why Officer Jones had our phone number?" Amy's level tone helped to ease the pain everyone in the room was feeling.

Danny nodded.  He had already decided that would be his next step. Maybe he could even convince Steve to let it be a 5-0 investigation! It was doubtful, but worth a try. "Amy, did Kenny ever mention anything at all that would make you think he was in any sort of trouble?"

Before Amy could answer Mei audibly gasped. "Danny! You don't think your brother did this, do you? Kenny could never do such a thing, never!" She covered her face with her free hand and began to cry.

Danny and Amy exchanged glances.  It was not what he had meant at all, but if he was going to investigate this, he needed to start somewhere.  The look on Amy's face told him that she understood.  

The screen door on the kitchen flung open and Tommy entered.  He surveyed the scene in front of him and fixed Danny with his nastiest sneer. Then he turned around and walked out, purposely letting the door slam behind him. The noise caused Mei to look up and she recovered her fragile control. Danny attempted to change the subject of the conversation to give everyone a momentary break. "Tommy seems to be backsliding a bit.  The other day he actually said a couple of words to me. Today I get the slammed door routine."

Mei shook her head. "He'll come around Danny. With Tommy everything is two steps forward, one step back."

Danny nodded in understanding. Tommy had been through a lot, mostly at the hands of either uncaring or overworked white Family Services workers. It would take a lot before he learned to trust those different from himself. "Is he still trying to get you to call him by his made up Hawaiian name?" Danny asked with a half-grin.

Mei finally let go of Amy's hand and crossed her arms in front of her defiantly. It was the typical no-nonsense pose Danny remembered so vividly from his boyhood. "I told him that when he leaves my house he can call himself 'Superman' if that what he wants! But as long as he's here, I will call him by the name given to him by his Momma and Papa!"

Danny laughed at the typical response. Mei believed in showing proper respect, regardless of the details of the situation. Tommy didn't stand a chance!  Realizing that it was getting late, and that whatever leads were out there probably needed to be dug up before they disappeared, Danny said his good-byes and headed back to Honolulu.

*****

Steve faced his young officer and tried to act firm. He was annoyed at his detective for not returning to the Palace as he had instructed him to, and was even further annoyed by Dan's insistence that this case could be made a Five-0 matter. But Steve also realized, by the earnestness behind Dan's words, that he was not purposely being defiant, but rather simply trying to deal with the harsh reality that had been dumped at his door. Steve's tone was stern, but not angry.

"Danno, I gave you an order to return to the Palace and you took it upon yourself to disobey it. Why?"

"Steve, this is my family. Just because we are not related by blood doesn't make them any less important to me than Chin or Kono's families are to them. How could I come back here to work when they needed me? If it was your family, what would you do?"

Danno's words tempered Steve's annoyance. If it _had_ _been _his family, what indeed would Steve have done?  Still, he would have to eventually teach his new officer that while he could argue decisions, he could not outright disobey them.  "I'm going to let this one go Danno. But it's not to happen again, understood?"

Danny nodded, and then immediately reverted back to his initial plea that Five-0 take over the investigation into the cop-shooting.  Steve couldn't believe the level of perseverance - or was it stubbornness - that his new detective possessed.

"Danno, you need to listen to me on this one. It is not a Five-0 matter," Steve repeated for what had to be at least the third time. "Chief Dann will not let us take it from him and rightly so.  Let them handle it."

Danno tried to protest but again got nowhere.  Steve was obviously not going to be swayed by Dan's pleas. Finally, in near desperation, Danny asked Steve for some time off to allow him to investigate this on his own.

"I don't know Danno, Chief Dann specifically asked me to keep you out of this."

Dan scoffed. "So when do you ever do anything Chief Dann wants?"

The response brought a smile and a reprieve. "All right, all right! Tell you what - you can take some time and look into this thing for a few days.  Kono can help you for a couple of hours each day.  But if anything big breaks, I have to have both of you back."  

Dan was out of the office and grabbing Kono before Steve could change his mind.

*****

Danny and Kono stood in Dan's cubicle looking over the information they had gathered in the last two days.  It was nearly midnight and they were the only two in the building, but the lateness of the hour did not damper their enthusiasm. Indeed the two police officers were growing more and more animated as they discovered evidence of the most surprising sort. Informants had tipped the men off that Jones had a reputation as a dirty cop, and discussions with Jones' neighbors indicated that he hosted many late night parties that were believed to involve gambling. Danny was itching to get Jones' bank records as well as phone records.  The former would be difficult because he had no probable cause to be pursuing Jones, but the latter would be easy. Phone records had probably already been requisitioned by the prosecution, in order to prove a link between Jones and Kenny. Danny knew that it wasn't Kenny who had shot Jones, but perhaps he could find out who did pull the trigger, if only he could discover who Jones' main contacts were. Finally it was decided that tomorrow Kono would pursue the gambling angle further, while Danny asked the Public Defenders' Office to request the phone records from the prosecution.  The two men where just wrapping things up when Steve entered the office. He was dressed casually, having come from home, but neither officer was surprised to see him.

"Don't worry Steve. We're finishing up here now and we'll be in on time tomorrow," said Dan, who was beginning to feel better about the entire situation now that he was on to something.

"I'm not here to interfere gentleman.  Chief Dann called me at home - Officer Jones died a few hours ago.  It looks like it will be murder one now. I thought you should know."

Danny knew his boss had gone out of his way to deliver the message in person.  Though he appreciated the show of support from Steve, it hardly made him feel any better.  With Jones dead there was no way for the fallen officer to refute that it was Kenny who was responsible for the shooting. Nor could Dan use the information he was gathering to pressure Jones into revealing who the actual gunman was. Indeed, without Jones, Danny's investigation was nothing more than circumstantial evidence in the tainting of a dead man's name. At best it could plant a seed of doubt in the minds of a jury, but at worst it could look like Kenny was involved with Jones in these less than admirable ventures as well.

Steve read the mind of his junior officer and felt a need to support him. "Why don't you and Kono take the next couple of days and work on this thing full time.  I'll pull a few men from HPD to cover you."  Again Danny thanked Steve, and then the three men headed out of the dark Palace; Steve and Kono to get some sleep, and Danny to break the bad news to his family.

"Steve, I appreciate you telling about Jones in person.  And thanks for letting me investigate."  Danny wasn't sure what else he could say.  

Steve patted the young man on his back in understanding and smiled.  "I know Danno, I know.  Tomorrow gentlemen, let's call it a day for now."   The three men headed out of the dark Palace; Steve and Kono to get some sleep, and Danny to break the bad news to his family.

*****

Danny sat on the floor of the bedroom, his chin touching the top of his knees. He remembered when this had been _his_ bedroom - the one he and Kenny had shared before he had left for California. Meanwhile, his brother sat on a chair with his feet resting on a nearby desk. He looked worried, as befitted a man in his situation. Over by the window, Tommy sat on the edge of what was once Dan's bed, glaring at it's former occupant. "Have you been going to classes Kenny?" Danny asked, attempting to break the silence.

"How can I, man?! How can I be expected to study knowing that I might spend the rest of my life in a box?!" The words would have carried a potent meaning spoken by anyone, but Danny knew that with Kenny it was even more so. Kenny was an outdoorsman.  He hiked and camped every chance he got. Joey had taught all his boys to hunt and fish, including Danny, because he believed that in order to respect the land you needed to know how to live off it.  But Kenny was the one who had taken it the most seriously.  He had even chosen geology as a course of study, for the simple reason that much of the program was conducted outdoors. They all knew that eventually Kenny hoped to work in a way that would help raise awareness of the growing destruction to Hawaii's natural resources.  Putting someone like Kenny into prison for life would be equivalent to a death sentence.

"You know that Kono and I are making progress. Hang in there bruddah," was all Danny could think to say.

To both Danny and Kenny's surprise it was Tommy who spoke up next. "They goin' after him because he's Hawaiian, right? I mean if he was a haole college kid I bet they wouldn't even lay a finger on him."

Danny shook his head. "It's not true Tommy. What happened here is that the evidence is for some reason pointing to Kenny.  Kono and I are trying to find out why that is."

Tommy wasn't buying it. "I bet it would be different if he was white! No way a local boy can win with this system. Mei and Joey like to say that if I play the game, I can make it. They show off David and Alan and their boring jobs and boring babies to me. And they show off Kenny too. They say look at Kenny, you study and you be just like him. Yeah, that's just what I need - to be going' to jail just like him!"

Danny leaped to his feet. "That's enough Tommy!"

But Tommy was a tough kid. He jumped off the bed and stood nose to nose with Dan. "You talk big man, but I don't hear a word you say. You a haole, and no haole gonna tell me what to do!"

Danny grabbed Tommy's collar and was just about to take the young man down a notch when he felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Kenny. "Please you two, no more. I need you both right now - and in one piece, huh?" he added with a grin.

Danny smiled at Kenny and let go of his foster-brother's shirt.  _Kenny, always the level-headed peacemaker_. _No way could he ever have killed a police officer!_

Tommy wasn't able to back off, and felt betrayed by Kenny for not siding with him over a haole.  He heard all the Punana's sing the praises of Dan Williams and he was sick of it.  He was a haole, an outsider, he didn't think he could ever understand how the Punana's could trust someone like that.  Tommy shoved past Danny and left the room in a huff.

"Sorry Kenny, guess I really blew that one."  Danny knew Tommy was hurting and he tried to be a good example for him.  But this time he just didn't have the patience left to deal with him.

*****


	2. Chapter 2

Brothers – Chapter 2

Kono sweated as he walked along the asphalt road under the midday sun. Where in the world Steve ever got the idea that a real detective needed to wear a suit he would never know.  He glanced down at his notepad. He still had a half-a-dozen leads to follow up on.  Normally, that type of long list before him would be depressing, but this case was different.  This was Danny's ohana that was in trouble and the more leads he had to follow the better off Kenny's chances were.  Kono slipped back into his car and called central dispatch to connect him to Danny.  The two agreed to meet over by Kailua Beach to grab some lunch and compare notes.  It was a little bit silly to eat lunch on a beach in a suit, but this job had him doing some stranger things than that, and besides - there was nothing like the vast ocean to put life back into perspective.

The two men met up in the parking lot of the beach park.  There on the hood of the Kono's car they shared their notes and the evidence collected that morning.  Kono had discovered through some informants that Officer Jones was deeply in debt to a local-bookie that had been known to use strong-arm tactics.  Although this by itself did not help Kenny, it could perhaps be a clue as to why Officer Jones was in a school playground late that fateful night. Perhaps he was meeting a gambling contact?

Nearby, a brightly colored van with a loud speaker on top sat parked in a corner, with loud rock music blaring from an amplifier.  Kono and Danny were having difficulty hearing their discussion and decided to relocate over to the sand. Kono offered to pick up some lunch at a nearby deli and bring it back to them. Danny quickly agreed and Kono set off. As soon as Kono's car had left the parking lot the music abruptly stopped, and was replaced by a crackling voice that began to emit racially derogatory epitaphs.  Danny tried to ignore the harangue, which was directed not only at him, but at a Japanese couple as well who was picnicking nearby. He wondered how things had gotten this bad, this quickly, Then he reminded himself that racial intolerance was always a factor in society, only recently though had he become the victim. _Did Mei and Joey have to deal with this stuff? How about Kono? Now the tables are being turned. But this __Hawaii__ for Hawaiians movement is turning into nothing but a platform for racists! _Deep down Danny respected the growing sovereignty movement. He didn't always agree with their long term ideas but he felt he understood their complaints and believed they had a legitimate beef with the US government.  He also knew that many Caucasians who had come to the islands in the past had both mistreated the islanders and abused the land.  They had been both exploitive and dismissive of the people to whom the land rightfully belonged and now Danny was paying the price for that.  But as Mei always said, "Two wrongs didn't make a right."  Danny took a deep breath to calm his nerves and walked past the van on his way to the beach.  Within seconds he was surrounded by three men, none of who looked very friendly.  Dan decided he would rather not take the hard way about things and immediately pulled his badge and ID out.  To his surprise none of the men moved away.

"We know who you are cop," the largest of the three men said.  

Danny looked at the men closely and realized that he knew them.  They were friends, or at least acquaintances, of Kenny.  They belonged to the University's Environmental Conservation Club that his brother was president of.  Danny decided retreating might be the most sensible course and he turned to walk away.

"That's it, cop. Walk away, just like you're doing with your _brother_!" That taunting way he said the word 'brother' was too much for Dan, and he spun around.

"I am not walking away from my brother, and stay out of what you don't understand." Danny took a fighting stance in case someone tried to take a swing, but nobody made a move, or even acknowledged what he had said. Glad to be avoiding an altercation, Dan once again turned to leave. The young 5-0 detective didn't get more than a few steps before a large weight crashed onto his back. Danny was a street-smart cop, and with a few difficult moves threw the attacker off. But he had barely turned around when the largest of the three men crashed into him from the side, while a second attacker grabbed for his legs. Danny hit his head hard on the pavement. The blow left him disoriented, but that didn't hurt nearly as much as the scraping of his entire right side against the small pebbles that dotted the parking lot. In a defensive move, Danny turned his back to his assailants in the hopes of protecting his head long enough to overcome the dizziness he felt and get to his feet. But instead a large foot plowed directly into his lower back. Danny couldn't help but let out a scream. Rolling onto his side another foot landed in his face, and then a second kick hit him. Finally, a third kick to the head exploded what was left of Danny's consciousness.

When Danny woke up he was still on the pavement, with a small circle of people around him consisting of the Japanese couple, two boys who should have been in school, and  Kono who was kneeling beside him. The assailants were gone. "What happened, man?" Kono asked in a worried tone trying to check to see how badly Danny was injured. Danny could only shake his head and grab onto Kono in an attempt to sit up.  Kono wasn't sure about Danny getting up, he would have been much more comfortable waiting for an ambulance.  But he saw how insistent Danny was and felt there was nothing more he could do. After getting his equilibrium back, Danny stood and walked over to a water spigot with Kono's assistance.  He refused Kono's repeated offer to run him over to a nearby clinic, choosing instead to place his entire head under the faucet until the water washed away the blood and the coldness numbed his pain. Once he felt better he related the incidents to his Hawaiian companion. Kono shook his head in disgust. "Let me put out an APB on them Danny. Haul their sorry assess downtown and teach them good!" 

Danny shook his head.  "Not this time Kono.  I don't want any backlash against Kenny."

Kono understood. Danny could always count on Kono understanding. Perhaps sometime he would talk with Kono about what it was like to be a Hawaiian growing up a stranger in his own land. Danny took his 

lunch gratefully from his friend, and suggested they walk over to the sand to finish compiling their morning's work. But Danny noticed a hesitant look on his companion's face - as if Kono wanted to tell him something but was deciding how. "You got something for me?" Danny asked.

Kono nodded and took a deep breath. "While I was on my way back here and you were being a punching bag , I got a call from Steve. Seems Joey's been tryin' to get in touch with you. Kenny's over at Queens Hospital. Room 402. That's all he said.

Danny was out of the parking lot in seconds.

*****

Danny ran full speed through the parking lot of the hospital, up the stairs and into the fourth floor room to which Kenny was assigned. His brother's dark skin, dark hair, and dark expression lay in complete contrast to the crisp, white hospital sheets on which he lay. To one side of the bed stood Mei and Joey. On the other side sat Amy. Tommy stood against a far wall, staring at the floor, his hands crossed in front of him.  When Danny approached the bed Kenny turned his head away from him.  _Great, now I have two brothers who won't look me in the eye.  _At that moment  Mei noticed the marks on Danny's face. "Danny, what happened to you!?"

"Just some police stuff, Mei. What happened to Kenny? I got a call that said…"

Joey took Danny's arm and motioned for him to join him outside in the hall. There he explained the bottle of sleeping pills that Kenny had consumed and the subsequent ambulance trip to the emergency room. Joey related that Kenny should be all right - physically at least. Danny was incredulous. They had always been taught to respect the value of life under all circumstances. How could Kenny do something like this?

Joey seemed to be reading Dan's thoughts. "He blames himself for what's happening with Tommy." At Danny's questioning look Joey continued, "Family Services called this morning and said they want to remove Tommy from our home. They feel the situation with Kenny is not an appropriate thing for the boy to be witnessing." Joey shook his head. "Tommy doesn't want to leave, and Kenny is shouldering the blame. I guess one more thing was just too much for him to handle."

Danny nodded in understanding.  "Kono and I are making some real progress Joey.  I can't discuss it but I think we're on to something that might be useful. I'm going to take what we've found to the District Attorney in just a couple of days. Maybe I can get him to ask for a delay or even get the charges dropped. Just…just try to keep everyone together in the meantime. It's going to all work out, I'm sure of it!"

Joey smiled at Danny's confidence.  It was exactly what his family needed right now.  

*****

Steve McGarrett walked by Dan Williams' cubicle and stole a passing glance.  He wondered for the second day in a row how Danno had gotten those vicious looking marks on his face, but he had decided to allow his officer to explain in his own due time. He was also interested in knowing how Danno's investigation was proceeding, but here too he thought it best to let Danno come to him, rather than the reverse. He wanted his officer to know that he trusted him - despite the lapse of judgement on Danno's part last week.  Besides, Steve was confident that his new officer could run a minor investigation like this on his own, and  Steve didn't really want to involve Five-0 any further than Dan and Kono's participation already had.  Steve continued on to his office without stopping.

Meanwhile, Danny pondered the evidence before him.  He had more than enough to show Jones' involvement in illegal activities. It was amazing that Jones had gotten away with it as long as he did - hadn't anybody over at HPD noticed?  Right now the only thing the prosecution had against Kenny was the murder weapon registered to him and some phone calls made from Jones' house to the Punana home. Danny wasn't sure what the phone calls indicated, but two pieces of evidence were hardly a solid case. Surely he could convince the District Attorney tomorrow morning to delay the case until a formal investigation into Jones' activities was conducted?  He certainly hoped so - because except for some follow-up that Kono was conducting on the phone records, Danny could think of little more in the investigation that he could proceed with. He also knew that right now Kenny's future was in his hands, and it was a heavy responsibility. The Five-0 detective leaned back in his chair and momentarily closed his tired eyes.  He thought back to his childhood, and to Kenny…

_Five-year old Danny played in the dirt yard by himself.  His older brothers had gone down to the beach. He was too young to go without Mei, but she was expecting a baby any moment now and was too tired to make the trip in the hot sun.  Danny had just gone into the house to get a drink, when he heard a muffled scream from a nearby room. Danny ran to find Mei doubled over on her knees. "Danny, run to the Makena's house - they have a telephone there. Have them call Auntie Ruth and Joey. Tell them I need them both!"_

_Danny was astounded. The Makenas lived several streets away. He had never been allowed to go there on his own before. He realized that it must be very important and he quickly turned and ran out of house. He ran as fast as his small legs could carry him, all the way to the Makenas without stopping._

_Danny once again found himself alone in the small yard. Auntie Ruth had arrived first and shooed him outside.  Joey had come home and joined him for a while, but then Auntie Ruth had called Joey to come inside. Now Danny waited, wondering if Mei was all right. He had heard her screams, even from the yard, and wished desperately that David and Alan would come back already and explain to him what was happening.  Just then the door opened and Joey motioned Danny inside. He led him to the bedroom where Auntie Ruth stood to one side and Mei lay on the bed, a small brown bundle in her arms. Joey pushed Danny up to the bed.  "Danny, this is your new brother. We're going to call him Kenny"_

_Danny looked up at Mei for confirmation. She nodded. "You've become a big boy Danny. Kenny here is very small. He is going to need you to teach him things, to take care of him, and to protect him. You're a big brother now." Mei paused. "Do you understand, Danny?"_

_Danny smiled and nodded. He understood._

_*****_

District Attorney Walter Stewart eyed suspiciously the persistent young Five-0 officer who was obviously not going to take a simple "no" as an answer. He carefully looked over the evidence again that Dan Williams had placed before him.  He adjusted his reading glasses and pursed his lips in an effort to give off a look of sincerity.  But again he shook his head. "I am sorry Williams, but there just isn't anything in here that changes the case against Kenneth Punana.  It may very well be that this Jones was a dirty cop.  It certainly looks that way. But as the man is dead that is not a case for the Prosecutor's Office. Now if Punana wants to change his plea - say to self-defense, or perhaps try to explain why he shot Jones, then this office can investigate from that angle."

"But he didn't shoot him! Someone else did.  It has got to be either a mistake or a frame," was Danny's impassioned response.

"Then that is your department, isn't it?" Stewart sat back in his chair and folded his arms. He smiled at Williams. "Bring me something that shows Punana either wasn't involved in the shooting or can provide an explanation on why he was, and I'll consider changing the charge. Right now it stands as murder one."

Danny glared at Stewart. At that moment he wanted to leap across the desk and strangle the man, even though he knew intellectually that Stewart was right. Maybe it was that obnoxious grin that Stewart wore between his mustache and his pointed beard. Danny gathered up his evidence, and with his blood still boiling, headed out of the Justice Building. He hadn't gotten very far when he was met by several fellow police officers that he knew vaguely from his days at HPD.

"How's it going, Williams?" was Officer John Keegan's tightly clipped greeting.

Danny had never liked Keegan much. He had a reputation for mishandling suspects. Still, he was a fellow officer, so Danny stopped to chat for a moment.

"Fine, thanks. How are things at HPD?"

"They'd be a lot better if brother cops over at Five-0 stopped trying to make us all look bad."

Danny was taken back by the response. "What are you talking about Keegan?"

"Come on Williams! Everyone knows you are running around all over the island trying to dig up dirt on a dead fellow officer. And why? To save the hide of some cop-killer."

Danny met Keegan's glare with one of his own. "Kenny's no cop-killer. I grew up with him. I know that he didn't shoot anyone.  But Jones is dirty and I can prove that!"

Keegan took a step closer to Dan. The other officers took a step back providing a sort of ring around the two men. "Dead or not Jones is a brother officer, and you had better back off and get behind him on this before you find yourself a very lonely cop."

The use of the word 'brother' once again stung Danny.  He had always believed in the brotherhood of police officers. It was such a dangerous profession that the men who worked it needed to be much closer than just co-workers.  But he would not be forced to chose one 'brother' over another. As far as Danny was concerned the truth was what would serve everyone, except perhaps Jones, best.

"I am not backing off, Keegan. And get out of my way before I have to remove you myself."

Keegan made no attempt to move. Instead, Danny could sense that the  other officer was forming a fist in preparation for a sucker punch to Dan's gut. There was no way Danny was going to be taken by surprise two days in a row.  Danny turned as if to retreat, but suddenly veered back with a right hook across Keegan's jaw.  Within seconds the two men were engaged in a full scale fight with one another. While fists flew in every direction, passerbys began to crowd around to watch the spectacle. They were not disappointed as both men where adept enough to land repeated blows.  The added factor that one of the men was in uniform, and that there were several officers standing around not interfering, made the situation seemingly more attractive. Within minutes several dozen people were bearing witness to the disagreement.

Sgt. Duke Lukela could barely believe his eyes when he finally pushed his way through the crowd. One bark from him and the two combatants disengaged.  Lukela dispersed the crowd quickly and then faced the two officers.  Keegan tried to explain his way out of the situation by pointing out that Danny had struck first, but Lukela was not interested. "Put yourself on report Keegan, and I want to see you in my office in 15 minutes." With a nod at Lukela and a glare at Dan, Keegan departed.

Sgt. Lukela was an old friend of Danny's, and although he had not seen what had happened, he could guess. He had heard the talk around HPD by a few of the hot heads about how Danny was destroying the "blue wall of solidarity". He knew that most officers didn't feel that way, but the few who did sure were making a lot of noise. And of all the troublemakers, John Keegan was the worst. The older cop watched as Keegan and his crew crossed the busy street several blocks down. "Nothing but thugs in uniform," muttered Duke tightly under his breath. He didn't mean for Danny to hear, but from the small smirk that formed on the 5-0 officer's face, he knew that he had. 

"Are you alright Danny?" Duke finally asked. 

"Yeah. But Keegan's right, I did start it."  Danny looked down at the pavement.  This past week and a half was like a bad nightmare.  Suddenly Danny looked up at Duke. "You won't tell Steve, will you? I still haven't explained the marks on my face from the other day to him!"

Duke shook his head. "I won't say anything to Steve, Danny." He paused, "That's for you to do."

Danny sighed. Duke was right of course; he would need to tell Steve before he heard it on the coconut wireless.  As the two men walked towards the Palace Dan asked Duke what it was like to be a Hawaiian and a cop.  Duke explained to Danny his strong belief in improving the system, rather than simply railing against it.  He also assured Danny that racism in the department was greatly declining over past years, and his belief that whatever the problems HPD faced with the local community, things were still better than on much of the mainland.  Danny thanked Duke for the 'escort' back to the Palace, and while Danny climbed the steps to the now lost monarchy's home, Duke turned and headed back to HPD.

*****

Danny sat in one of the white chairs in Steve's office as Hurricane McGarrett swirled all around him. But in an almost surrealistic manner, Dan felt that he was momentarily safe. He was sitting in the eye of the storm, but his mind was off protected somewhere, thinking of Kenny and the evidence he had collected. Every now and then Danny would force his thoughts back to his present situation and he would try to tune into what Steve was saying, but within seconds his thoughts would return unassisted to his brother's predicament and away from the fury of his boss.

Meanwhile, Steve McGarrett paced around Danny's chair, expounding in a loud and angry voice on the need for his Five-0 detective to possess self-control, as well as the disappointment he felt in Dan's unprofessional behavior recently. It was only when he finally paused to ask the recipient of his tirade a question, and received no response beyond a blank stare, that he realized Dan wasn't hearing a word he was saying.

Hovering between anger and furiousness, Steve reached over to snap his fingers in front of Danno's eyes and regain his officer's attention. In response to his boss' sudden movement, Danny recoiled backwards.  He knew intellectually that Steve wasn't taking a swing at him, but his body had taken all the battering it could stand the last few days, and his instincts apparently weren't taking any chances. Seeing Danny flinch like that caused Steve's anger to cool a bit, and he carefully pulled up a matching white chair besides Dan and sat down. Looking at his battered officer like this, he wondered if perhaps it had been a mistake on his part to bring Danny to Five-0. He had originally wanted to bring Duke over, but Chief Dann had refused him, and had even appealed to the Governor whose support he received.  At that point Steve had decided to go a different route - to bring over a young cop who showed promise. One he could train in the manner that Steve saw fit. What he hadn't realized was that Danny would have his own agenda too; and that there might be times when his family would come before Five-0. 

As Steve watched Danny sitting there, he realized that Dan was desperately trying to steal a glance at his watch. _Does he have to be some where? Is he waiting for someone or something? Or am I just boring him? _Steve took a deep breath to calm his temper. "Danno, why are looking at your watch?"

Danny immediately sat up straight in his chair. "Kono was supposed to meet me here at noon. That's all."

Steve shook his head with exasperation. Obviously he was not getting anywhere with his lecture. He decided to try a different approach. "Danno, this is not HPD. I cannot put you on report for fighting, nor do I have a ticket writing unit I can assign you to as a disciplinary measure. And I certainly can't suspend you - I need every one of my men! What am I supposed to do if you won't even give me your attention when I speak to you - never mind obey my orders!?"

"I'm sorry, sir."

Steve was taken by surprise by the use of the word "sir". It was not what he had intended at all. He did not want knee-jerk respect from Danny or from any of his men. "Danno, you don't need to call me 'sir', and I am not looking for an apology from you. What I am trying to convey to you is that Five-0 is a team situation. What one player does reflects on the rest of us. We all need to work together as a team."

Danny's attention was captured by Steve's last statement. "Then why can't we all work as a team on this cop-shooting!?"

For a moment Steve was caught off guard.  The desperation in Danny's plea was hard to ignore.  Steve was also beginning to wonder now what it was that Danny had discovered. It must be something very substantial to be worthy of a fight with another police officer. "All right Danno, why don't you show me what your investigation has uncovered so far?"

Danny leaped out of the chair. "You mean you'll make it a Five-0 investigation?"

Steve shook his head. "I didn't say that. But maybe it could be a Steve McGarrett investigation anyway. Let me see what you've got."

Danny headed to his cubicle to retrieve the evidence he had placed there upon returning from his meeting with Stewart.  He was back in the big office in moments, and within 15 minutes had laid out to Steve the results of a week and a half's work.  Steve was astounded. He had seldom seen such a complete and well-thought out investigation in so short a time. The fact that it had been conducted by one man, with only the partial help of another, made it all the more impressive.  Danno had phone records, background information, informant reports and a two-page list of Jones' main contacts. He had names from various lists cross-referenced, multiple statements from neighbors, and even an estimated accounting of Jones' financial history.  The work was as complete as possible without court orders, and Steve could easily see the image of a very dirty cop emerging from the paperwork. Steve was just about to ask a few questions of Dan when Kono burst into the office.

"Danny, I gotta talk to you. I think we got somethin'!" Kono said excitedly.

"Let's hear it Kono," Steve replied. Kono smiled when he realized that the papers laid out on Steve's desk were the evidence he and Danny had collected. It would be good to have Steve on board with this.

Kono momentarily paused when he saw his friend's face. "You been in a fight again, bruddah?" he asked in a concerned tone.  Steve crossed his arms and shook his head disgustedly at the reminder of his youngest officer's recent exploits. Kono looked questioningly back and forth between the two men but the glare from Danny indicated that the subject was best dropped. Kono took the hint, and instead proudly presented what he had found out. "Remember when you told me to check out not just the names that belonged to the phone numbers Jones called, but all the people who live in those houses too?"

Danny nodded.

"Well you were right on Danny.  Other than the Punana's number, he called eleven numbers at least three times. Ten of those have teenage kids at their places. Eight of those are juveniles with police records and four of those eight are foster homes!"

At the word "foster homes" Danny's eyes grew wide.  Kono nodded in agreement to Dan's reaction. "I only spoke to two of the kids. They weren't saying much, but I got the feeling that they were afraid of cops. Maybe this guy has been using them in some way?"

Danny nodded but didn't say anything. He was deep in thought. Steve spoke up next. "Do you think Jones was involved in some way with the Punanas' foster son and Kenny stepped in to stop it? Maybe the gun was just meant as a threat, but it accidentally went off?"

Danny shook his head. "Kenny said he had nothing to do with the shooting and I believe him."

Steve pushed, "Maybe he's covering for up his foster brother for some reason. Maybe he can't tell you the truth."

"No!" said Danny. "If Kenny was covering something up he would tell me that he couldn't be straight with me, but he wouldn't lie."

It was Kono's turn to throw out a theory next. "Maybe it was Tommy by himself. He would know where the gun was kept and he could have done it. If it wasn't for that initial on the paper…"

Danny cut him off. "Kono! That's it. The letter "K" is not for Kenny, it stands for Kaeli'i!"

At everyone's questioning look Danny explained about Tommy's self-chosen Hawaiian name. He had adopted it himself a year back, before he had joined the Punana family. It was part of his growing interest in his Hawaiian heritage, and had also been chosen to help him gain entrance at the time into a local gang.  No one in the Punana family used the name for Tommy, but it was quite possible that Kaeli'i was the name Officer Jones knew him as.

Danny quickly gathered his papers into a pile and began shoving them into a large folder. "I'm going to head over to the Punana's house and take a look at Tommy's stuff while he's in school. Maybe I'll be able to find something there that might tell us more. I'll get permission to search from Mei so we won't need a warrant." Danny was nearly out the door when he stopped dead in his tracks and turned to Steve.  "It's all right with you that I go, isn't it Steve?"

_Maybe I'm getting somewhere with Danno after all. _"Go ahead Danno, and take Kono with you. Let me know what you find."

Danny smiled his thanks and ran out the door. Kono had to hustle to catch up.

*****


	3. Chapter 3

Brothers – Chapter 3

When the two arrived at the small house on the windward side of the island, only Mei and Amy were home. Danny's older brothers, David and Alan, had taken the day off from work to go hiking with Kenny.  They were disappointed when Danny turned the trip down.  But offered no argument when Danny told them he wanted to devote all his energy to the case. They had left early that day and weren't expected back for hours. Joey was at work and Tommy at school. Amy had not wanted her mother to be alone all day so she had returned from the University to have lunch with her. 

Both Mei and Amy had immediately noticed the fresh bruises on Danny's face, and Amy had quietly registered Danny's barely camouflaged wince when she greeted him with a hug. But although the women somehow knew that Danny's bruises where related to Kenny's predicament, neither said anything, There was no point to it anymore. Danny would only deny it, and besides, it seemed almost destined that Danny would put up with any kind of trouble in an effort to rid Kenny of his. It was that way with all the brothers.

Mei offered both men some lunch, but Danny and Kono declined. Then Danny gently asked for permission to search Tommy's room. He knew that the police had done that just last week, but he also knew he had a far better sense of what to look for than they did.

"Of course you can look Danny. You may not live here anymore, but this is still your home too."

Danny shook his head and explained that he needed expressed permission from her to search it.  Mei consented. "Is Tommy in some sort of trouble, Danny?" Her worried expression told him that the last thing in her life she needed right now was more trouble. Still, he didn't want to lie to her.

"He might be, Mei. Kono and I want to find out for sure."

Mei looked sadly around her, as if the world she once knew was now gone. "They are coming for him Saturday."

"Who's comin' for who?" asked Kono.

"Family Services is coming for Tommy," Mei responded quietly. "He's going to be joining a new family this Saturday." It was obvious that this hurt her deeply. 

Danny shook his head and sighed. _That may be the least of his problems!_ He reached out to take Mei's hand and squeezed it reassuringly, he then attempted a grin for Mei and Amy's sake before heading to Tommy's bedroom with Kono.  The two men began a careful search of the room. It was Kono who eventually noticed the small, folded white paper that lay on Tommy's pillowcase.  He brought the note over to Danny, who carefully unfolded it and read the contents to himself.  Danny's startled look caught Kono's attention, and he waited until Danny passed the note to him to read.

"You think Tommy killed Officer Jones, don't you?" Danny spun around to see Amy standing in the doorway surveying the two men.

"I now _know_ that he did," was Danny's reply. "He left us a note. But we've got more trouble than just that Amy. It's a suicide note too.  Did you drop Tommy off at school today like usual?"

Amy was momentarily stunned by what her brother had just told her, but she quickly composed herself. "No, I didn't. He said he was going to catch a ride with a friend today."

Danny's mind was racing with possibilities. It was over four hours since Tommy would have left the house. He could be anywhere by now, including dead. "Do you have any idea where he might have gone Amy. Please think!"

Amy's face lit up, "Yesterday he asked me if the bus ran all the way over to Kaena Point. I told him that I didn't think it did. He could have hitched a ride though."

Kono spoke up. "You know what Kaena Point is!"

Danny nodded. It was the supposed departure point for Hawaiian souls leaving the physical world. It was the perfect place for a kid misinterpreting his heritage to commit suicide.  "Come on Kono, let's go!"

Amy stopped them in the doorway. "Let me come with you Danny. Tommy and I are on good terms."

Danny knew what she meant, but was still stung a bit by the implication - that he could possibly make things worse by showing up. Still, he couldn't have Amy out on a cliff edge trying to talk Tommy down. If anything happened to her, he could never face Mei and Joey again. Or himself. "I need you here to stay with Mei. Don't tell her anything about the note - there's nothing she can do right now. I'll call you as soon as I have some answers." He leaned over and kissed Amy on the cheek, then he and Kono ran out of the house and to the car.

Danny drove west as far as the road would take him. Eventually however, the asphalt disappeared, and then even the dirt road gave out.  Danny and Kono got out of the car and called in their location to central dispatch. After removing their jackets, the two men set out over the dense brush land by foot to search for Tommy. Both Kono and Dan had been here many times before, and they silently followed each other up a small hiking path that led to an overlook point.  The sun was beating down on them strongly and both men wished they had brought water. Still, neither was willing to turn back and they pushed on. Once they arrived at the lookout point, Kono passed the binoculars to Danny and they carefully scanned the area.  The sun was dipping towards the west, and the glare was making the search that much harder. After about 20 minutes, Kono suggested they move to another point. This time they had to climb the craggy rocks that jutted out from the cliffside, which was lined on one side by a forest and the other side by the ocean.  After ten minutes or so of climbing, the two men sat down on a ledge to rest.  Suddenly Danny got back up on his feet. "There he is!" he shouted excitedly.

Kono looked down to the spot where Danny was pointing, and sure enough, there in the distance on a rock by the ocean's edge sat Tommy.  Danny immediately began to lower himself down the side of the cliff. Kono grabbed his arm. "You pupule, man? You gonna get killed."

"I'll be all right Kono, I've gone down these rocks before."

Kono shook his head but let go of Danny's arm. "You know that Steve's gonna blame me if you wind up shark bait."

Danny laughed at the thought of Steve lecturing Kono this time instead of him. Then he continued his descent until he was only feet away from Tommy. The lapping of the water against the rocks was so loud that Tommy never noticed Danny's approach until he finally sat down next to him.

The young man's eyes grew wide for a moment, but then he simply turned his face back to the water. "You see my note?" he asked.

"Yeah, I did."

"Well you might as well arrest me, because I found out I'm too chicken to jump." Tommy seemed disappointed in himself.

Danny was grateful for the survival instinct that still remained intact in his foster brother.  But he decided discussing the planned suicide was probably not the best approach. "Your note said that you killed Jones. But it didn't say why."

"I killed him. Who cares why? Isn't that enough to get Kenny off the hook?"

Danny shook his head. "No, it's not. Without you giving a detailed explanation the court will just think that you are covering for Kenny."  Danny looked out to the ocean as he sighed.  He was tired of the cold shoulder treatment he got from Tommy and decided it was time for it to come to an end.  Looking back at Tommy, Danny's voice was full with compassion and concern, "Tell me what happened, Tommy. The whole thing."

The tone in Danny's voice was disarming and Tommy could feel his wall of indifference begin to break down.  The roar of the ocean was loud, but Tommy slowly and painfully recounted his experiences with Officer Jones. He told Danny how the man had caught him stealing a bicycle from a parking lot almost a year ago, and had made him an offer to forgo the arrest if he would do him a small favor. The favor was lifting a few dollars for him from the cash register of a local store when no one was looking. Later Tommy became involved in a gang, and Officer Jones was once again available to help him get out of trouble on a concealed knife charge.  This time the pay-off included several theft jobs.  Eventually Tommy joined the Punana family and left the gang.  But Jones threatened to have him removed from the home and sent over to Juvenile Hall if he did not continue to do jobs for him. Tommy did so for a short while, but he quickly decided that the police officer was bluffing and he refused to cooperate any longer. For a while Jones left him alone, but eventually he started calling him again, and Tommy had agreed to meet him that night at the school.

"Why did you change your mind and agree to see him?" Danny asked.

Tommy hesitated. "He said he was watching her and would hurt her if I didn't come."

"Who?" asked Danny confused.

"Amy," said Tommy flatly. "He said he knew who my foster sister was, and that she was this kind of good lookin' woman. He said that if I didn't help him out, he was gonna make her pay up for me instead."

A shudder ran down Danny's spine at the thought of Jones hurting Amy. He wondered what he would have done if he had been in Tommy's place.

"Did you intend to kill him when you brought the gun?" Danny asked.

"No, no!" Tommy shook his head frantically. "I didn't think birdshot could kill nobody! That's why I put that in there. I was just gonna try and scare him off. I thought that if he saw I had a gun he'd leave me and Amy alone. But he pulled out his gun too. I got scared and …pulled the trigger. After that I ran to a payphone and called the police, so they could send an ambulance. But I didn't say who I was." Tommy was silent for a moment and then turned to Danny with a pleading look in his eyes. " Danny, you got to believe me, I didn't think it would kill him!!" Tommy buried his face in his hands and sobbed.  Danny knew he was probably telling the truth. He remembered how shocked he himself had been when he learned that even a BB could kill at a very close range. He put his arms around Tommy and held him.  

After a while Tommy's tear streaked face emerged from Danny shirt. "I never wanted Kenny to be hurt because of me. It was all a mistake. I was hoping that maybe somehow you'd be able to get him off." Danny was surprised at the faith Tommy had in him. He would not have thought it before.

"You need to come with me, and tell everything you told me here to the prosecutor.  It's the only way to get Kenny out of trouble."

Tommy nodded his understanding. Danny stood up and offered a hand of assistance to the young man. "Come on Kaeli'i, I'll give you a boost up this rock."

Looking up at Danny Tommy smiled for the first time since this whole mess started. "Mei won't like it if she hears you callin' me that!"

Now it was Danny's turn to smile. "Then we just won't let her hear it, will we?"

Danny and Tommy made their way slowly back to Kono and the car.  There they found two police cruisers waiting for them as well as an ambulance, which Kono had ordered 'just in case'. Reluctantly Danny watched as Tommy was frisked, handcuffed, and placed in a cruiser. Danny kneeled down at the open door and tried to offer the youth some reassurance.

Tommy said almost nothing until Danny turned to go. "Hey, Danny man!" he called. Danny looked back inside the car. "Will you come to see me at the jail? You know, like you did with Kenny?"

Danny nodded. "You can count on it, Kaeli'i. We're brothers."

*****

The Attorney General's office was crowded with people, and Walter Stewart didn't much like it.  The focal point of the meeting, fifteen-year-old Thomas Waipahe, sat on a chair directly in front of the large desk with his foster parents on his left. A lawyer from the Public Defender's Office sat on his right. Directly behind Tommy stood Dan Williams, whose hands were firmly planted on the boy's shoulders.  A little further back stood a Family Services counselor who was required by law to be present. And against the far wall, at the very back of the room, stood Steve McGarrett, his arms crossed in a watchful stance.  Stewart would have very much liked to have passed this entire case off to an underling at the DA's office, but as it involved a dead police officer and a family member of McGarrett's staff, the politics of it necessitated his participation. The Attorney General cleared his throat and began. "Let's get on with it, shall we? According to this agreement, young Mr. Waipahe will consent to plead guilty to a charge of accidental homicide. As he is a juvenile, he will be sentenced by a Family Court judge. However, in return for his guilty plea, it will be the recommendation of this office to the court that Tommy be placed at the Ho'omaka 'ana Youth Camp on the Big Island of Hawaii, and not in a detention center.  Tommy will remain at the youth camp until his eighteenth birthday, at which time, according to how the law now stands, he will be released."

Stewart attempted a friendly smile at Tommy. He was not thrilled with the idea of a cop-killer not spending any time in a real prison, even one so young as Tommy. But he knew that the circumstances in this case were unusual. He also knew that three years in a secure youth camp was probably more time than an adult would spend in prison on an accidental homicide conviction.  At least this way the boy stood a chance at returning to society a better person. That was seldom the case for those joining society from jail, even juvenile jail. Besides, part of the deal was the unwritten agreement that Tommy keep his mouth shut about Officer Jones.  Dan Williams had agreed also to let the evidence quietly disappear. There was no point in going after a dead cop, especially since none of the other youths involved with Jones seemed willing to cooperate anyway. Nothing would be gained by dragging the police department's name through the mud and staining the reputation of HPD in the eyes of the local community. From Stewart's point of view, this whole matter was best laid to rest as quickly as possible.

When Stewart had concluded his statement, Danny had given his youngest brother's shoulders a little squeeze. He wanted him to know that he was still behind him, figurative and literally. Although he would miss Tommy, he felt that the Ho'omaka 'ana Youth Camp was probably the ideal place for him.  There, through instruction and proper role modeling, the boy could learn about his heritage and find the pride in himself he was so desperately looking for.  _Maybe I could get Steve to send me over to the __Big__Island__ on business sometime and visit with him. _When Danny looked down, he noticed that Tommy had turned his head and was smiling up at him_._

The only one in the room who was less than pleased with the outcome of the case was Steve McGarrett. As far as he was concerned, the burying of Officer Jones' actions was little more than a cover-up.  He strongly believed that this type of thing needed to be brought out into the open, otherwise it would just be continued by other dirty cops - ultimately diminishing the reputation of good police officers everywhere.  But the arguments he had made along those lines fell on deaf ears. Stewart wanted the whole thing buried, and the Punana family feared that a public rehash of the case could cause Tommy's admittance to the youth camp to be rescinded - as it was a private facility only partly funded by the state.  Danny had not said anything either way, but Steve knew that his officer did not want to risk anything that might bring more grief to his already exhausted family.  In the end Steve had relented, reluctantly dropping his protests.

*****

From his window at the Palace, Steve McGarrett watched Dan Williams sit under a tree and eat his lunch. Danny never ate indoors if he could avoid it, and Steve thought for a moment about joining him.  Danno's actions these past few weeks had caused Steve to see his new officer in a different way. He was far more talented a detective than he had ever realized. With little assistance, or support, he had broken a case that had originally seemed open and shut.  And he had done so despite the high level of emotions swirling not only around him, but within him as well.  And…if that wasn't enough, Danno had also proven that he was more than just a yes-man. He had gone up against Steve's instructions when he believed it was the right thing to do. Steve wasn't sure if that showed good intuition or stupidity, but it certainly did show guts! 

Steve watched as Kono and Chin approached Danny. Dan stood up and the three men began to chat. Steve watched carefully as he saw Danny apparently begin to explain something.  The older officers were listening intently to their junior partner and nodding their heads in agreement. Steve was impressed with Danno's ability to not only hold his own with more experienced officers, but to also take the lead. Suddenly a thought occurred to Steve. He had placed Kono in the position of acting second-in-command when Donnelly left last year, but Kono had told Steve that he preferred it not to be made permanent. Kono was not a follower by nature, but he was not a leader either, and he felt uncomfortable in the position. Chin was also not interested - with a large family like his, he had neither the time nor energy to devote himself to Five-0, as would be required in such a position. But what about Danno?  He was young, yes, but he was certainly proving himself a capable detective and an independent thinker. After a few more moments of deliberation, Steve decided to offer the position to Danny on a trial basis. If it worked out, it could eventually be made permanent. 

Thinking of Danny like this also brought another thought to mind. Steve walked over to his desk and sat down. There he picked up the receiver from the phone on his desk, and dialed his sister in California. After all, family was a very important thing!

Pau


End file.
